Given the name, Revanche seemed to be a revenge thriller, and to a certain degree, that’s correct, but the way writer-director Götz Spielmann frames the plot makes it feel much more like a naturalistic character study of the way love and violence walks hand-in-hand, leading to a tragedy that shifts its thrill each time ex-con Alex is forced to make a change. It’s a surprising portrait. It’s one that is tense with permeating silence and no added score, with the camera still and lingering by the door. It’s slow, unfolding within the mundane. And it’s existential, with the way these characters actively try to change their fate, but only lead into even more difficult issues. Revanche is a refreshing take of the titular theme.
"Aided by a terrific performance from Krisch and an exceptional ensemble cast, Revanche is a beautifully crafted psychological thriller that should firmly place Götz Spielmann on the world cinema map."
— Lee Griffiths
Alex, an ex-con working as muscle in a Vienna brothel, dreams of escaping with his girlfriend Tamara, who also works there. Their attempt to break free sets off a chain of events that links their fate with a rural police officer and his troubled marriage. As their lives intersect, a quiet struggle unfolds between guilt, grief, and the desire for redemption.
To keep his prostitute girlfriend from being reliant on her pimp, ex-convict Alex stages a robbery, but fails to pull it off as local policeman Robert nearly catches him. After he escapes and starts a new life in a new village, Alex befriends his new neighbor Susanne, leading to an unexpected encounter from the past.
So many woodworking sequences.
I've never watched a revenge film this slow and meditative.
Other
1 nomination
""It works because Spielmann has established that we're not watching belabored dramatic trajectories collide, but an encounter between two people in miles-away mindsets.""
— Nicolas Rapold